Capacity building in non-state actors: the potential for positive influence [draft]

This paper follows the discussion founded on Ken Menkhaus's two papers, 'Relief and Protection: The Role of Non-State Actors' and 'Assessing Non-State Actors', which John Fawcett brought to an operational level with his recommendations in 'Practical Suggestions for Dealing with Non-State Actors: Bottom-Up Perspective'. Theirs was a review of and action proposals for international aid agencies working around so-called negative non-state actors (NSAs).

In contrast, this and the succeeding paper address NSAs that hold the potential for positive outcomes. As a basis for discussion, the first will propose a conceptual framework that provides a taxonomy of positive non-state actors and the nature and value of capacity building; the second offers specific suggestions for international aid agencies toward improving the capacity of these NSAs.